Plaque which builds up on the teeth should be removed from the teeth as frequently as possible. Because plaque is responsible for harboring injurious organisms on the teeth, its frequent removal is desirable. In addition, the feel of the teeth to the tongue is very pleasant after removal of plaque from the teeth. It is customary for people to rely upon toothbrushes and tooth paste, dental cream or tooth powder for the day to day cleansing of their teeth and gums. Toothbrushes are effective for this purpose, and in the ordinary home environment they are entirely satisfactory.
On many occasions when a person is away from home, it may be desirable for the person to brush his teeth after ingesting food. For example, a traveler may wish to do so after a meal on an airplane to feel more at ease when talking to fellow travelers, etc., and to maintain good dental hygiene while traveling. A person may prefer to brush his teeth after dinner before continuing on a date or attending a meeting. Parents may desire that their children brush after every meal even when away from home in order for the children to acquire good dental hygiene habits. In each of the foregoing examples, a person could carry his toothbrush with him. However, that is usually inconvenient or many reasons including the fact that a tube of tooth paste would also normally have to be transported with the toothbrush and because return of a wet toothbrush to pocket or purse after use is undesirable. To overcome the toothpaste problems, a tooth brush has been marketed in the form of a pen including a clip for attachment to a pocket and cartridge containing hygiene problem when returned to a pocket in wet condition after use, they are inconvenient for children to carry, and if lost by children, they are relatively costly to replace.
Attempts have been made to provide a portable dental article in various forms. One form of a portable dental article is a sheet-like article. Such a sheet-like article is disclosed in e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,731. The article is wrapped around the wearer's finger during use of the article. While such a sheet-like article is beneficial in its simple form of a product when manufactured and/or carried, it is problematic that the article may come off from the wearer's finger during use of the article because the article does not have any means to directly attach the article to the wearer's finger.
Another form of a portable dental article is a fingertip-like article. Such a fingertip-like article is disclosed in e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,509, U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,172 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,247. U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,509 discloses a disposable tooth cleaning device made of a high wet strength material which is shaped and sealed in the form of a pocket or flat thimble. The device is formed with two sheets which have been joined in such a manner at three sides as to provide stiff lap edges. U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,172 discloses a toothbrush comprising a bristle-incorporating brushing element which is attached to a flexible sheath into which a person's finger can be inserted to control the brushing action of the brushing element. Such devices are usually produced such that they fit the wearer's finger tight when the device is worn. Therefore, these devices may be too tight if the wearer's finger is quite thick, or the devices may be too loose if the wearer's finger is quite thin. Thus, the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,509 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,172 are not be adaptable to various sizes of fingers. Furthermore, the devises have no means to attach the device to the wearer's finger. Accordingly, these devices may come off from the wearer's finger during use of the article in the oral cavity if the wearer's finger is thin. This is quite dangerous (especially for infants) because a user may swallow such a device coming off from the wearer's finger during use of the article in the oral cavity.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,247 discloses a disposable tooth cleaning product comprising a sheet of thin, flexible material such as paper, cloth or synthetic foam material which may also be formed and contoured. The disposable tooth cleaning product also fits the wearer's finger tight when the device is worn. The disposable tooth cleaning product comprises the finger cover portion and the elongated band having the releasable adhesive surface such that the elongated band is wrapped around the wearer's finger. However, the finger cover portion of the disposable tooth cleaning product has a tight fit shape to the wearer's finger before the elongated band is wrapped around the wearer's finger. This may cause various sizes of fingers tightness or looseness. Thus, the disposable tooth cleaning product disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,247 is not adaptable to various sizes of fingers.
JP Utility Model Laid-open publication No. H6-143 discloses a portable dental article comprising a fingertip-like finger cover portion and a grip portion. The finger cover portion has a tight fit shape to the wearer's finger. This may cause various sizes of fingers tightness or looseness. Furthermore, the dental article disclosed in JP H6-143 needs to be held by the wearer's palm with the grip portion during use of the article in order to prevent the article from coming off from the wearer's finger. This may cause the size of the article to get larger and inconvenience operation during use of the article. JP Utility Model Laid-open publication No. H5-29516 discloses a portable dental article comprising a pouch-like finger cover portion and a grip portion. The dental article disclosed in JP H5-29516 needs to be held by the wearer's palm with the grip portion during use of the article in order to prevent the article from coming off from the wearer's finger. This may cause the size of the article to get larger and inconvenience operation during use of the article.
None of the publications above disclose a portable dental article that has adaptability to various size fingers and the article can be fixed to the wearer's finger firmly during use of the article. Thus, none of the existing arts provided all of the advantages and benefits of the present invention.